


Taking the Black

by lodessa



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Bittersweet, F/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-02
Updated: 2008-06-02
Packaged: 2017-10-05 04:17:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lodessa/pseuds/lodessa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaime never expected to see Brienne again, but he underestimated her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking the Black

It was perfect really, that he'd end up in Night's Watch black; Kingsguard white had clearly been a poor match, and he was a man of extremes. The cold didn't suit him that well, but here were men with far worse crimes on their hands than he had on his remaining one. They were his brothers now. Jaime supposed he ought to thank his real brother for that, for still being alive. Still he'd been moving through life as a zombie, hardly caring where life took him to next, until she arrived.

At first he thought he was merely hearing things. He'd grown a bit mad after everything. He couldn't be hearing a woman's voice up here, and even if he was it certainly wouldn't be her.

But it was.

She bested half a dozen of the black brothers before their commander, Jon Snow, decided to face her himself. In the end, he was forced to concede that Brienne was as capable as any of them with a blade.

Jaime never did learn what she said to Snow about her motivations for taking the black. He imagined she told him of her father's failed attempts to marry her off. He imagined she told him about her quest to find the commander's half sisters, only to find them utterly without need of saving.

Waiting for a moment alone with her seemed to take forever. Even waiting, he felt painfully alive for the first time in months.

When the time finally came, he wanted to take her in his arms, but couldn't. He knew she'd meant the vows so recently sworn. Her honor, unlike his, was not flexible.

He looked in her eyes, though, and understood she had come here for him.

"Why?"

"I joined Renly's Rainbow Guard to serve him. I join the Night's Watch to serve with you. Besides, without you, it might have been the best option anyway."

He should have felt guilty, but he could not. Once before, she had brought his honor back from the dead; this time she revived all of him.

By day, they toil together to keep the edges of the Kingdom from crumbling. Branded as Kingslayers, they are left to each other by the others for the most part. They are brothers in arms, and they do much good. Jaime has never done this kind of good before. Often they are sent out as scouts, ranging unpopulated lands for weeks at a time.

At night, they lie together, fully clothed. She is the one to hold him in her arms. There is no question that he wants her, wants her more than anything in the world. The feeling is mutual, and yet honor reigns supreme. The ache reminds him he is alive. Sometimes they cry together, bodies pressing at each other, through unflinching black.

It is a bitter victory, but Jaime has never felt as content with himself as he does now. Soul and body reside side by side, though not entwined.


End file.
